League returns Just a few weeks back all the fanfare and publicity was geared towards to other sports in Croke Park and to the first game under lights in football between Dublin and Tyrone. It got a great build up on TV, in the media and from overseas. It was fantastic to see and the attendance on the night of the game was incredible - full house, a great atmosphere and a very good quality of football. Don't get me wrong, as I really enjoyed this hype also but there in lies my bone of contention. A national hurling league has just commenced and where was the razzmatazz, games under lights, massive PR exercise to get punters excited that the other sports got? There was hardly any and I ask the question why? I am all in favour of other games in Croke Park but not to the detriment or undermining of the greatest game in the world. Why weren't Cork or Tipperary or Kilkenny or even Dublin organised to promote the tournament - hurling needs all the support it can get and Croke Park need not have been the venue. When you hear that some managers were not even invited to the launch, it asks the question - is there enough been done to enhance the profile of our great game? People will argue it is not the right time of year for hurling or that next year it will be done differently - but by then it might be too late. It is fair to say that the introduction of new blood at management level should put a lot more emphasis of the competitive nature of this tournament. Why was Ger Loughnane not pitted against Brian Cody as the Clare man so badly states he wants? They still might get the opportunity in the summer, but there are no guarantees. For too long now, counties did not want to win the national hurling league because it would interfere with their progress in the championship and they had only a half hearted approach in their preparation and team selections. This year already there seems to be a bit more of a competitive streak to it with the new managers quick to point out that they would like to go as far as possible and even win the tournament.- Hopefully that is true and all the up coming games will reflect that passion and desire we regularly get throughout the summer months. I know people will say that it is the opportunity to develop players and try out new positions for some players like Cork's current experiment with Diarmuid O'Sullivan at full forward, but it also the chance for counties to put some silverware on the table. It is the second biggest competition in hurling and we have and a nice little earner for county. The result of the competition so far and major talking point has been the performance of Dublin in drawing against Kilkenny. Fair play to Brian Cody in his after match briefing, he gave all the credit that was deserved to Dublin and pointed out rightly so, that the Dubs are working extremely hard at their performance levels and are building a team for the future. As I have stated so many times before - you have to start at underage level and build the foundation from there and that is exactly what is happening - success at minor and U21 level means there is a core of players coming through who want to play hurling for Dublin and hopefully will earn the respect of the whole county similar to the way the footballers do. It is quite simple, hurling needs Dublin and Dublin needs hurling. The whole country needs to see the emergence of new forces and the capital would top it all off if that was to happen. I know one swallow does not make a summer and they could well fall on their backsides again but at least they are making a commitment that this can work and standards are improving. Their next step should be to bring Kevin Heffernan on board and he could get all the footballers back playing the game. It would be great to see and I might even not mind losing an All-Ireland to the Dubs. Limerick came out of the traps very strongly with their performance against Tipperary, who many fancy to be real contenders this year. What I liked about their performance was the style of play they seem to have adapted, there is less of the Huff and Puff and more of the stick work and emphasis on skill. Against Tipp they used possession very well and created good scoring opportunities for themselves. Tipperary on the other hand will be disappointed that they did not convert the scoring opportunities they had but will also believe it is still early days and the time to be scoring is further down the road, as their follow up win against Kilkenny showed. All other games went along the predicted lines and easy tests for the Galway and Clare boys will surely be followed by tougher ones and we will see what progress is been made here. With a little bit more hype by the authorities and we could go along way to having a cracker of a league campaign which will wet our appetites for the summer months ahead. National Hurling Coach - Paudie Butler I had the privilege of meeting this man on a few occasions and his hunger and appetite to improve the game in all counties must be seen to be believed. He has by now, I am sure, travelled the length and breath of the country preaching the hurling gospel but actions speak louder than words and this man is all action. He is prepared to stand back and listen but is also prepared to get down and dirty if it improves the standard of our game. He is doing so much for the weaker counties that some day, I honestly hope his efforts are rewarded and we have a major breakthrough from those other than the famous five. I feel it is important that he has all our backing and support to make his life easier in what is a most difficult task, but there is no better a man than Paudie. Tweet

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